Ubuntu MATE is a desktop Linux distribution which aims to bring the simplicity and elegance of the Ubuntu operating system through a classic, traditional desktop environment - the MATE desktop. MATE is the continuation of the GNOME 2 desktop environment which was used as Ubuntu's default desktop until 10.10 (when it was replaced by Unity). The project began its life as an Ubuntu "remix", but starting with version 15.04, it was formally accepted as an official member of the Ubuntu family of Linux distributions.

Martin Wimpress has announced the launch of Ubuntu MATE 16.10. The new version of this official Ubuntu community edition offers a desktop environment and applications which have been ported to the GTK+ 3 toolkit, replacing GTK+ 2. "Ubuntu MATE 16.10 is, more or less, a re-working of Ubuntu MATE from scratch, not just to accommodate GTK+ 3 but to also make most of the packages shipped by default with Ubuntu MATE 'Recommended'. This means most default applications can now be uninstalled without issue. The work to port MATE Desktop to GTK+ 3 has been ongoing for a couple of years and Ubuntu MATE is the first major distribution to ship a full GTK+ 3 implementation of the MATE Desktop. And the absolute latest release too, MATE Desktop 1.16! Firefox and LibreOffice are also GTK+ 3 only in Yakkety. This has been no small undertaking, we've changed toolkits twice this cycle. First from GTK+ 2.24.x to GTK+ 3.18, and then again to GTK+ 3.20. The themes required two significant upgrades during this process." Additional information and a list of changes can be found in the project's release announcement. Download: ubuntu-mate-16.10-desktop-amd64.iso (1,635MB, SHA256, signature, torrent, pkglist).

Martin Wimpress has announced the launch of Ubuntu MATE 16.04. The new version marks Ubuntu MATE's first long term support release and features an up to date MATE desktop environment as well as support for Ubuntu's Snappy command line package manager. "Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS has not just been in development for 6 months. Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS has been in development for nearly 2 years. Since the project started in June 2014 this release, this our first official LTS, is what we've been working towards. This was the goal we had firmly in our sights every step of the way. I extend my sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to Ubuntu MATE over the last 22 months. None of this would have been possible without the countless contributions from the amazing Ubuntu MATE community. I can't thank you all enough for what you've helped create. I only hope this release makes you all proud." A list of changes and known issues can be found in the distribution's release announcement. Download: ubuntu-mate-16.04-desktop-amd64.iso (1,560MB, SHA256, signature, torrent, pkglist).

Martin Wimpress has announced the launch of Ubuntu MATE 15.10. The new release of this community edition of the Ubuntu distribution is mostly a big fix and polish release which updates existing software and corrects some issues with past versions. "What changed since the Ubuntu MATE 15.10 Beta 2 release? Here's what changed in Ubuntu MATE 15.10 since Beta 2: Fixed update-manager and do-release-upgrade to upgrade from Ubuntu MATE 15.04 to Ubuntu MATE 15.10. Fixed the openSUSE panel layout, GNOME Main Menu no longer crashes. Fixed ubi-timezone error in Ubiquity. Fixed Caja undelete, which was causing Caja to crash or fail to undelete. Updated MATE Tweak to 3.5.2a..." This version of Ubuntu MATE also includes an edition of the distribution for the Raspberry Pi 2 mini computer. Further information on Ubuntu MATE 15.10 can be found in the project's release announcement and in the release notes. Download: ubuntu-mate-15.10-desktop-amd64.iso (1,105MB, SHA256, torrent, pkglist).

Martin Wimpress has announced the availability of Ubuntu MATE 15.04, the project's first release as an official member of the Ubuntu family of distributions: "Ubuntu MATE 15.04 is now available for download. This release builds on Ubuntu MATE beta 2 and mostly fixes bugs. Here is a run down of some of the new features in Ubuntu MATE 15.04 compared to Ubuntu MATE 14.10: Ubuntu MATE 15.04 is an official Ubuntu flavour; established a hardware partnership with Entroware; added PowerPC and Raspberry Pi 2 as supported hardware architectures; added a new default theme called Yuyo; added user interface switching to MATE Tweak; added fully integrated Compiz support; added Tilda pull-down terminal; added Folder Color; added LightDM GTK+ Greeter Settings; added categories to the system menus; added new community contributed desktop backgrounds; updated to Linux kernel 3.19; updated to MATE Desktop 1.8.2; updated to Firefox 37; updated to LibreOffice 4.4...." Read the release announcement for more details and known issues. Download: ubuntu-mate-15.04-desktop-amd64.iso (1,096MB, SHA256, torrent, pkglist). An Ubuntu MATE 15.04 image for the Raspberry Pi (armhf) is also available: ubuntu-mate-15.04-desktop-armhf-raspberry-pi-2.img.bz2 (903MB).

Martin Wimpress has announced the release of Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2, an updated build of the Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the MATE desktop environment. Although the DVD image name sports the LTS (long-term support) tag, this version of Ubuntu MATE is not an "official" Ubuntu flavour as the project was formally accepted as an Ubuntu family member just before the recent 15.04 beta 1 release. From the release announcement: "Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2 is available for download. This release fixes a few issues that were present in 14.04.1, adds some new features and updates some packages. It is important to state clearly that Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2 is not an official Ubuntu flavour! The upside of maintaining an unofficial Ubuntu derivative is that we can roll out new features and package updates. So we did, most notably LibreOffice 4.4.1. The advantage of the newer Linux kernel is that it resolves most of the screen tearing issues some people experienced in Ubuntu MATE 14.04.1." Download: ubuntu-mate-14.04.2-LTS-desktop-amd64.iso (983MB, MD5, torrent, pkglist).

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